Tim Geithner

And the judgment we are making -- and it is absolutely the right judgment -- is that, as a country, given where we started, we have no choice but to move aggressively in these fronts.

The judgment we're making is absolutely the right judgment. Is that as a country, given where we started, we have no choice but to move aggressively on these fronts.

Home prices are still falling as foreclosures rise. And even credit-worthy borrowers are finding it harder to finance the purchase of a new home or to refinance their existing mortgage.

President Obama is committed to moving quickly to reform our entire system of financial regulation so that we never again face a crisis of this severity.

I hope you can provide us with some assurances today that the billions of dollars that taxpayers are being asked to commit will be protected.

How do we end the uncertainty and bring such capital back into the marketplace?

Absolutely not. I am saying there is risk to the taxpayer.

It is very important that we let the world know, the American people know, that we will take whatever action necessary to help prevent the kind of failure that would cause systemic damage to our system

This crisis is partly the result of failures in consumer protection.

A substantial part of what caused this crisis was gaps in our overall regulatory framework and the exercise of the oversight authorities that Congress gave our regulators.

It is very important that we act effectively to help stabilize our system and to prevent the kind of broad-based catastrophic damage.

I believe very strongly that our actions will be more effective if we get complementary actions by other countries.

The definition of a financial crisis is that markets won't take risks that were otherwise economic.

Given the critical role of insurers in enabling credit transactions... do you believe that we can undertake serious market reform without establishing Federal regulation of the insurance industry.

Without that action, we would be sitting here today with a dramatically worse crisis.

The path our country has pursued to date was too limited in support. It came late, came with too little broad trust and confidence and too little direct support to the businesses and consumers and households that are most affected by the…

The path our country has pursued to date was too limited in support. It came late, came with too little broad trust and confidence and too little direct support to the businesses and consumers and households that are most affected by the…

I applaud the Obama Administration for moving to impose new and tougher restrictions on executive compensation for companies that receive TARP funds.

The previous administration's piecemeal, lurching interventions in the financial system contributed to the confusion, I believe, and the volatility that have dragged down consumer and investor confidence.

If a company accepts taxpayer assistance, it should not be offering bonuses to top executives or rewarding shareholders with cash dividends.

It is necessary to protect the financial system and get recovery back on track for the markets to understand that we will do what is necessary to make sure that these major institutions can meet their commitments.

Our central obligation to the American people is to do what is necessary to get this economy on track.

I find it deeply offensive what happened in compensation practices across this country.

Assistance comes with conditions. It is not a right. It is a privilege.

It is very important that all the major countries are moving together to strengthen demand, lay the foundation for recovery.